


Guns, secrets, and family

by InLust



Series: the marvel city private investigators au [2]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Backstory, Christmas fic, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Domestics, Easter Eggs, F/F, Marriage, Private Investigators, brooding peggy, crazy ex-girlfriends, criminal clients, divorced spouses, dramatic angie, family matters, meeting the siblings, partner wives, secret keeping peggy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 14:09:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7175033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InLust/pseuds/InLust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Peggy cringes as the words are being screamed into her ears. Yup, her wife is mad. Five years of marriage, you’d think Peggy would mention to Angie that she’s worked with an international crime lord once or twice before. Nope...it just sort of slipped her mind.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Looks like I’ll be sleeping on the couch. Again. </p><p> </p><p>  <em></em></p><p> </p><p>cartinelli private investigators au</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guns, secrets, and family

**Author's Note:**

> sooooo this could be read as kind of like a companion piece to Guns, sex, and family which was a much light hearted, entertaining piece featuring Skimmons as the main couple. this one is a bit more dramatic but there's a reason for that because while Skimmons gets the crappy cases, on the other side of town, cartinelli gets like all the cooler ones because they're more experienced and basically Peggy is a genius in her own way
> 
> some notes: this literally takes place at the same time as Guns, sex, and family, which means it's a couple of weeks before christmas peggy and angie have been married for like 5 years and they do know skye and jemma from running to each other often while working; angie is peggy's private eye partner
> 
> there's a lot of backstory for cartinelli ill probably develop eventually but this will just lead into more fuckery that the two pairs have together that will ultimately show the whole Melinda/Jiaying dynamic and how they kind of make a mess for everyone to eventually fix together. its going to take A LOT OF TIME for me to write but rest assured THERE WILL BE MORE EVENTUALLY

The holiday season is coming round, which means one of two things for Peggy, more crime or _more_ crime. It’s the nature of the business, there’s no stopping it. Even if it’s a season for giving, that means someone is taking.

Peggy doesn’t linger on the fact that crime happens at every lurking corner or every waking moment. She _can’t_ linger on it. It’s the nature of people.

Peggy kicks up her feet onto the mahogany desk as she practically shoves the donut in her mouth. At least the Christmas themed donuts warm her heart.

She’s reading the paper before her morning gets busy. While her partner takes care of the spousal cases, Peggy still has to go through an overdue case that has everyone stumped. Except for her of course, she knows who did it, but there’s a _reason_ why the case is overdue.

“Peggy, didn’t your ma raise you better?”

With that, Peggy finds her legs being pushed off the table unceremoniously that she nearly drops her donut.

“Was that necessary?” Peggy sighs gruffly as she puts her donut on the little plate.

Angie and her beautiful brown hair and bright smile merely puts her hands on her hips and throws back, “If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t have any manners.”

“I have manners!”

Angie rounds the desk and starts clearing the papers scattered across. “Oh yeah? Tell that to the hurricane that hit your desk.”

The English woman smirks, “I believe that hurricane went by the name of _Angie_.”

The New Yorker rolls her eyes and throws a few papers at Peggy. Peggy lets out a raucous laughter--wholly unladylike. “Not now,” she grumbles, “do you even know what’s on your schedule today?”

“Of course I do,” Peggy says as she picks up her tea and donut while Angie continues to fuss around her. Her desk is just going to be a mess later anyways. The mind of a genius is hardly ever organized. “The Red Coats are coming.”

“Don’t you forget that you’re a lobster back too,” Angie snarks in return.

“You wound me, colonist.”

Angie narrows her eyes. “Don’t make me throw your tea into the harbor,” she threatens with a smile.

Peggy sips her tea carelessly. “You’re not even from Boston.” Angie slaps her with a stack of papers as she goes behind her chair to organize the other side of the desk. “Why are you being so---”

The woman whips around quickly, daring Peggy to finish that sentence.

The private investigator decides not to and retreats back into her seat. “Are you worried about Scotland Yard boys causing trouble?” she asks instead. “They’re here to confer with Marvel City Police about the recent crime activity. It’s highly unlikely that we’d be working with them.”

Angie doesn’t respond and continues to organize the papers in their appropriate files. For a second, Peggy thinks that Angie hasn’t heard her. She turns in her seat to see Angie with her lips thinned and deeply concentrated as she focuses extremely hard on the open cases. It doesn’t make Peggy feel any better as she shoves the last quarter of the donut in her mouth and stands up.

Peggy taps her wife’s shoulder and waits for Angie to turn around.

Angie turns around in a huff but upon seeing Peggy’s cheeks stuffed with donut, she lets out a giggle. “You’re so silly, English.”

Peggy nearly chokes as she swallows the donut. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong or do I have to investigate?” Peggy asks as Angie leans back against the filing cabinet, looking a bit deflated. “What’s wrong, darling?” Her hands come up to rub Angie’s biceps soothingly.

The woman just looks at the private investigator’s eyes and shakes her head, wondering why she married this woman in the first place. “Scotland Yard is sending their best, which means that your _brother_ is going to be in town.”

The private investigator just stares as she tries to make the connection. “Is that a problem?”

Angie huffs, “Of course it is! I’ve never met anyone from your family before!”

“With good reason.”

Angie glares. “Nevertheless, it _is_ your brother that’s going to be here. He’s going to meet _me_.”

Peggy pauses for a moment before the realization strikes. “ _Ah_.” She hasn’t seen her family in **years**. Since she decided to move state side, against her family’s wishes, they haven’t been on the best terms. And for her to work as some freelance detective? What a disappointment to a family of nobles. Michael only gets the love because he completed tours and came back medal ridden before he retired to join Scotland Yard. Peggy did her due diligence with the British Army, that’s _good enough_.

 **Her backstory aside** , Peggy hasn’t seen her family in years.

Meaning that when she decided to get married to Angie, in order to maintain her citizenship, they weren’t made aware of it.

“But does it _really_ matter?” Peggy reasonably asks. “I highly doubt that Michael wants to see me.”

“Peggy… you know your family wants to see you.”

This time it’s Peggy that grumbles as she goes back to her desk for her tea.

Angie rolls her eyes. She hates it when Peggy goes all broody on her. “Can you not _brood_ for a day and actually accept the fact that people love you?” She wraps her arms around Peggy’s waist from behind and drops her cheek on her shoulder.

“I know _you_ love me,” Peggy mutters into her cup.

“Yeah, it took a really long time.” Peggy doesn’t respond to that but there’s a smile on her lips. Angie kisses her gently just underneath her earlobe. “Michael is going to find out that you’re here, which means that he’s going to find out about me. The least you can do is prep me or something.”

“You don’t need prepping,” Peggy says as she tugs Angie to stand in front of her. “I love you and that’s all that really matters.”

Angie throws her arms around the strong shoulders and purses her lips. “You’re a smooth talker aren’t you?”

“Only for the pretty ones,” Peggy flirts as she leans in.

A knock fills the room and Peggy rolls her eyes.

“Duty calls.”

Angie pouts as she goes back to filing the paperwork. “When are you going to close this Triad case by the way?” she asks as Peggy makes her way to the door. “You’ve been investigating them for ages.”

Peggy doesn’t answer because 1) she doesn’t have an answer and 2) she _really_ doesn’t want to answer.

She opens the door and her eyes widen in surprise. “Jiaying,” Peggy greets in shock. She’s ready to just about shove the woman back out the door because if Angie found out--

“Oh come on, _old friend,_ don’t look at me like that,” the woman croons playfully. “I’m here for business, Miss Carter.” She enters the office, head held high, shoulders square, dressed in her expensive Burberry trench.

Jiaying is an **international crime lord**. The right hand to the Triad that _**never** _ falls.

Peggy is about to interject when there’s a loud clatter and gasp. _Oh, this isn’t going to be good._

A click of the holster followed by a, “ _Hands up, you_!”

Jiaying doesn’t look surprised whatsoever and stands there easing off her leather gloves. She tilts her head with interest because even down the barrel of a gun, she still looks threatening.

Peggy rushes in between Angie and Jiaying. “Darling, _please_ put the gun down,” she tries to say carefully.

Angie looks like she’s just about ready to pop an aneurysm but to hear Peggy tell her to put her gun down. “Are ya _kiddin_ ’ me? A member of _**the Triad**_ is here and you want me to put the gun down?”

“Darling?” Jiaying parrots with interest. She tilts her head and shoots Peggy a flirtatious smile. “You have a _wife_ now.”

Angie’s fight response is now morphing at the sound of Jiaying’s mocking tone. She shoots Peggy a look. “ _Excuse me_?”

“Can you put the gun down so we can talk about this?” Peggy pleads carefully. _This isn’t going to end well._ She has a lot of explaining to do and she’s sure Angie is going to hate it.

“This is poor customer service if that’s what you’re offering,” Jiaying adds on top.

Angie glares as the gun goes back up threateningly. “We don’t work for _criminals_.”

Jiaying just raises her eyebrows at Peggy.

“You’re **not** helping,” Peggy throws up her hands in exasperation. She turns her attention back to her wife. “Can you _please_ put the gun down, Angie? Jiaying is an old client.”

“Actually, a _current_ client,” Jiaying corrects as she reaches into her bag, completely unafraid of Angie tightening her grip on the gun. She pulls out a file and looks at Angie. “You are lucky I am used to doing business like this.”

Peggy doesn’t know how Jiaying said it, but Angie promptly drops the gun before clicking the safety.

The crime lord holds out the folder to Peggy for her to take. “I’d like to hire you. Someone has been sending threats.”

“What about May?”

Jiaying’s lips thin. “Unavailable,” she informs curtly.

Peggy rolls her eyes. Right, the divorce. “Why aren’t you hiring your daughter?” Peggy asks as she opens up the folder.

Jiaying actually looks a bit scary now. “Because the threats **are** concerning my daughter.” She’s met Daisy before, great girl, great investigator. The unfortunate luck of the draw was that she was a bit young to be taken seriously.  Daisy gets all the cheating cases and missing animal cases. “I want you to find out who it is. Starting with the Ward brothers.”

“The Ward brothers?” Peggy asks, genuinely surprised. Angie moves next to her to get a better look at the case files. “You’ve been working together for _years_ , what makes you think it’s them?”

“That market is tough, Carter, everyone is willing to do anything to get out of it.”

“The Ward brothers have just gotten full control of the harbor, why would they be getting out of the business?” Angie asks suddenly.

Jiaying raises an eyebrow. “God only knows,” she says cryptically. “I’ll be in town for the duration of the holidays.” She reaches into her bag again and Peggy has to hold onto Angie’s arm to stop her gun hand from going up. It’s a thick envelope that she holds out to Angie this time.

Angie stares suspiciously before taking the envelope and opening it up. Her eyes widen in shock at the sheer amount of bills in it. “And what do you want us _to do_ with this money?” she shoots back quickly.

Peggy sort of sighs next to her wife and places her hand at the small of her back.

“Paying for your services of course,” the crime lord really has no reservations poking at the bear. She even shoots a cheeky smile to Angie before looking at Peggy with a flirtatious smile. “You know how to contact me.”

As suddenly as she appears, Jiaying disappears through the door without another word. Peggy is happy about that but she knows what’s coming as soon as the door shuts.

“The right hand of the Triad was your client once?!” Angie all but screams in disbelief. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? How does she know to find you now? How do _you_ know how to contact _her_?”

Peggy cringes as the words are being screamed into her ears. Yup, her wife is mad. **Five years of marriage** , you’d think Peggy would mention to Angie that she’s worked with an international crime lord once or twice before. _Nope_...it just sort of _slipped_ her mind.

_Looks like I’ll be sleeping on the couch. Again._

\----------------------

“Jeesh, the missus looks like she’s on a rampage today,” Thompson says as he sits on his desk because Peggy’s already in his chair.

Peggy looks up lazily over to where Angie was, in a heated discussion with Sousa about a missing persons case she was helping to close.

“So what did you do?”

Peggy turns her attention back to the detective. Even gives him a little glare that has him raising his hands like white flags. “What do you mean, what did _ **I** _ do?”

“Come on, we both know in your relationship, you’re the one that has a lot more secrets than truths.” It was unfortunate that Thompson’s innate ability to understand people didn’t translate to his investigation prowess. “Angie looked wicked pissed when you two got here and Interpol hasn’t even shown up yet.”

Peggy sighs as she sinks into the seat. “I may have failed to mention an old client of mine.” Thompson raises an eyebrow. “ _Confidentiality_ , mate. Let’s just say, I work for whomever pays me and they’re not always the best people.”

“Ah,” Thompson seems to understand. Peggy knows what sort of CI he’s worked with before. “I think she’s probably _less_ pissed about you having shady clients and  _more_ about the fact that you didn’t _tell her_ about it.”

The things this detective says sometimes. It’s a wonder he ever dares to sit within arms length of her because she could hit him.

Before she can snark multiple overlapping voices fill the pit. She can hear Captain Dooley’s voice ring out the most. She grimaces as she moves to stand, Thompson following suit, straightening his tie as he goes.

The captain is leading a pack of four and Peggy has to do a double take. Of course, she sees her brother, he’s from Scotland Yard, Angie mentioned that he would be there.

“What is _she_ doing here?” Peggy suddenly whispers sharply to Thompson.

“I told you, _Interpol_ is coming,” Thompson responds back. “I didn’t know they were going to send _her_ though.”

Captain Dooley stops in front of them with a suspicious look before introducing the crew. There was obviously Michael Carter and his partner, whose parents had a sense of humor Sherlock Smith, from Scotland Yard. Then there was the sweet bumbling, Timothy Dugan, and his partner, her archnemesis, a woman that had many names, a woman that enjoyed the sick game of cat and mouse, a woman that Peggy honestly had the unfortunate circumstance of dating.

“Dottie.”

That woman still smiles like she has a secret...or maybe she is just crazy.

Everyone has a crazy ex-girlfriend.

“Peggy,” she almost croons with glee as she holds her hand out for Peggy to shake.

Of course, Peggy can’t be rude. She takes Dottie’s hand and feels the icy shivers through her body. And no, it’s not because of the winter. Then again, maybe Dottie is _actually_ a secret KGB agent with a heart of ice.

“ _Agent Underwood, what a pleasant surprise to see you._ ”

Everyone turns to the sound of Angie’s voice as she enters the room.

Peggy holds back a grimace but in the corner of her eyes, she can see Thompson back up slightly and give her a sympathetic look.

Right, Peggy is already sleeping on the couch and now her problematic ex is back in town.

Angie doesn’t need anymore reasons to be displeased at Peggy.

“Angie, darling, how good to see you,” Dottie feigns delight as she hugs Angie. Her height on the shorter woman has Angie on her toes.

There’s a menacing glare at Peggy from Angie as Dottie hugs her.

_How is this my fault?_

“How’s the marriage? Is Peggy still being a slob?” Dottie inquires dubiously.

Peggy doesn’t hold back a grimace this time because Michael is shooting an alarmed look at her. _Marriage_. Peggy. It isn’t hard for her brother to put two and two together. He doesn’t need to assume by the way Peggy just sighs at his expression.

Angie tries not to let it bother her. Because the cat is out of the bag and she wants her brother in law to like her. Not think she’s some crazy, possessive wife that’s going to kill his sister.

“She’s gotten a lot better,” Angie fakes in return, “after all, I _really_ take care of my wife. She doesn’t mind coming home to _me_.”

Dottie doesn’t react. Her smile is still in tact. “I’m sure you have taught her well Angie. Peggy’s always been _studious_.”

Angie smirks. “Don’t worry, _I know_.”

Captain Dooley now shoots a look at Peggy. It’s a cross between intrigued and approval. Peggy’s jaw drops in disbelief. They had work to do but Dooley wants to watch some verbal ping pong?

_Could this get any worse?_

It’s Michael that steps in though, professional and business like. “Pleasantries aside, I believe that we do have a case to investigate. You mentioned consultants that would be able to help, Captain Dooley.”

“Right, right,” the captain nods quickly and motions to Peggy. “Peggy has helped us with many cases involving _the Triad._ ”

_Bloody hell…_

“There hasn’t been a time that a faction of the Triad organization has been able to implant themselves here for long. Any cases involving their criminal activity has been swiftly undone and prevented thanks to her. I am sure that she’d be able to give some excellent insight into what the Triad plans to do here in Marvel City if you suspect their involvement.” Captain Dooley extols like a proud father.

Michael at least looks proudly at his sister, but the pit of her stomach just sinks because she knows what he could possibly ask. And as she hopes and hopes, there are **no** cards in her favor.

“Have you ever heard of a woman named **Hua Jiaying**?”

_Of course, it’s gotten bloody worse._

And all Angie does is stare at her with her arms crossed, thinking, _I told you so._

\----------------------

In retrospect, Peggy _should’ve_ stayed. She should’ve stayed when they asked for her to help with the investigation. There were obviously more questions about the Triad and Hua Jiaying. As much as she’d like to share the information about the woman she was _currently_ employed by, she didn’t really want to.

People just didn’t understand Jiaying. They haven’t worked with her. Despite Peggy’s moral compass, she can make judgments of her own after years of knowing Jiaying as to what a terrible human being was. It all came down to the nature of people.

It’s how Peggy got the job done quickly and well. She could unravel the nature of people and find out what their motives were for their actions. There wasn’t a case she couldn’t solve (even if some took more time than others).

So as Peggy sits a little further down the road, she doesn’t focus on Jiaying, the right hand of the Triad and her international crime business. She focuses on Jiaying, the overly concerned _mother_ who dotes on her daughter. Down the lens of her camera, she can see Daisy grumbling in her car, tearing away at a burger.

She knows that look all too well, one private investigator to another, one taken woman to another. Someone was having a bad day because of their significant other.

_**Ring. Ring.** _

Peggy looks at her phone and sees the picture of Angie smiling pop up under her name. She puts her Bluetooth on and taps the phone call, “Hello dear.”

“ _Oh don’t you hello dear me, **where** are you?_ ” Angie's mood still hasn't improved and Peggy tries not to let it bother her.

“I’m working.”

“ _Are you working on that...case from this morning?_ ” She must still be at the police station.

“Yes. A mother is concerned for her daughter and has left me in charge of finding out who wants to hurt her.”

Peggy’s line of vision follows Daisy’s and she sees Grant Ward exiting his car to stand there. He’s waiting for someone. She reaches for the gun at her thigh, just in case.

“ _Why did you lie about this morning? Are you honestly trying to protect her?_ ” Angie hisses into the phone.

“She can protect herself, but her daughter is her priority right now. And my job is to find out---”

“ _Peggy, are you listening to a word I am saying? Interpol and Scotland Yard are looking for her, do you know how terrible this is? How much trouble we’re going to get into if they find out we are working for her?_ ” Her words are frantic but still reasonable.

“Client confidentiality.” Peggy casually reminds as she senses a car driving by. She glances at her rearview mirror and sees another black car rolling up to stop behind Grant Ward’s town car. “We have to do our job, Angie.” It’s not a surprise as Jiaying gets out of the car.

Peggy stares back to Daisy, who looks shocked at the development. _So she’s investigating Grant Ward. Well, this is getting complicated._

“ _Peggy_ ,” a frustrated sigh follows, “ _look can you just come home? We should talk about all of this and figure out what we are going to do._ ”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk about it,” Peggy deadpans, which she shouldn’t.

“ _ **What makes you think that?**_ ” There’s a sharpness in her wife’s voice.

Daisy is taking pictures now. Peggy sees a figure approaching Daisy’s car and pulls out her gun, when she realizes who it is.

“ _You’re my wife, I’ll always want to know things and talk about things. **Especially now.** We have to be on the same page._ ”

_May? What’s May doing in town? Why is there so much going on?_

“ _Peggy_?”

Peggy breathes easily as May slips into the car. Daisy looks entirely surprised. _Interesting_. Peggy snaps her own pictures and keeps them for reference.

“ _Are you there_?”

The private detective takes a breath. “Yes, sorry, just work,” she explains before restarting her original train of thought. “You left earlier this morning without saying anything else about Jiaying hiring us.”

“ _Because we were called in._ ”

“You were mad.”

“ _With good reason._ ”

Peggy doesn’t get it and holds back her own frustrated sigh. “I’ll be home as soon as I can.” She doesn’t wait for Angie to say goodbye. She doesn’t know what more Angie wants from her. If it’s yelling she can take it. If it’s space she understands. But she doesn’t quite comprehend why Angie is so concerned about this.

There’s a reason Interpol hasn’t gotten the Chinese woman. And there’s a reason why they’ll **never** get her. They just don’t have any proof. And more importantly, this network of crime isn’t slash and steal. It’s more intricate than that; it’s an **empire**. One that if Peggy unravels will do more devastation than good.

\----------------------

Peggy thanks Daisy’s moms for having her do private detail when Daisy first got into town. You know, just to make sure their daughter gets settled and is safe in town. At first it felt a little much but Peggy never had a reason to turn on the trackers and bugs that were strategically placed all over until now. Thank goodness she put them there anyway.

While Daisy is safe with Melinda, whose presence is still suspicious, Peggy takes this opportunity to investigate the Ward brothers herself, which means that she has to go back home to use her computer. She really doesn’t want to and spends most of the day tracking their movement. Grant is taking care of business with Jiaying, he’s the pretty boy face that takes care of meetings. Thomas is manning the port, he’s the mastermind who likes to make sure they get things done smoothly. Christian is working at the office, he’s the guy who is going to cover their ass if anything goes south. It must be nice having a local government official in their pocket. It’s a wonder they don’t run the town completely but Peggy’s always read that Christian isn’t corrupt--an **ignoramus** but not _evil_.

Nothing seems too out of the ordinary, but Peggy has to find out what the brothers want before she can make a sound judgment as to why Daisy would be in danger.

It takes some finagling, making sure that Jemma, Daisy’s sweet _sweet_ girlfriend is not at the office for the day. She needs to figure out what about the Ward brothers Daisy is investigating. It doesn’t take her long because she knows how organized Jemma is, the younger English woman rivals Angie in anal retentiveness. It’s a wonder how Daisy and Peggy are blessed with such women. Or maybe she means **cursed.**

The case file remotely related to the Ward brothers has to do with _Kara Palamas_. The name sounds familiar.

Before Peggy leaves the office, she does a security sweep, making sure all of her bugs are still in place and up to date. Not to mention, in case anyone has been following Daisy in particular.

It’s late in the day, Peggy is hungry. She’s already missed lunch and she doesn’t really want to go home because she still feels like there’s a lot of work to do.

More or less, she tries to focus on the work she has to do despite how many things have decided to pop up, first her brother, then Jiaying, and then Dottie. They’re all interconnected, which narrows the focus on everyone’s motive but where to start is what stumps Peggy.

Her priority is Daisy and the Ward brothers because she’s getting paid for it, but there’s more. Something irritating and lurking. It frustrates her because she is starting to feel vulnerable.

“You never used to brood this much when you were a soldier.”

The voice doesn’t startled her but she is alarmed as Jiaying sits down across from her.

Peggy’s eyes scan the diner quickly. It’s not fancy at all, so she is suspecting a couple of looks because a richly dressed woman walked in all the way to the back just to sit across from Peggy. There are a few but no one is giving it a second glance.

“I’m not a soldier anymore,” Peggy says the woman across from her gets settled. She raises an eyebrow. “I am working with the police, by the way, as a consultant.”

Jiaying narrows her eyes but still remains cool as ever. “Warning me away?” There’s a quiet playfulness in her voice.

“I was just wondering what sort of trouble we are going to be dealing with now that the authorities suspect _you_ are the right hand to the Triad.”

A waitress promptly comes by and the criminal flashes her a smile asking for whatever Peggy is having. When she’s gone, Jiaying directs her attention back to Peggy. “People will **only** have their _suspicions_ , Carter, nothing to worry about.”

Peggy knows. There’s a legal network Jiaying runs. Everything will be fine. She just wished _Angie_ knew that.

“Did you know that Scotland Yard and Interpol were sending people here?”

“I had my suspicions. They are being looked into right now.”

Peggy sips her tea. “Are you here for a social call or business call?”

“You’d think it’s a bit of both considering we haven’t seen each other in a few years. You failed to mention you were married when we were in Vegas.”

“That’s because you were getting shot at by your colleagues and your daughter had to come get us,” Peggy quips.

“Well what happens in Vegas.” Jiaying has a Cheshire smile as the waitress sets down a cup of tea and BLT in front of her before leaving them alone. “So tell me about her.” The crime lord looks ridiculously ordinary as she bites into the sandwich. “What is your wife like?” her mouth is a bit full and Peggy realizes that’s probably where Daisy gets her manners from.

Peggy holds up a napkin that the woman gladly takes. “She’s more than I could ever ask for really,” the private detective admits. It’s strange how it hasn’t been a full day but Peggy does miss Angie. “An excellent partner in more ways than one.”

“Then why are you brooding here instead of being at home?”

“Do I really brood that often?”

“Oh, honey, you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t,” Jiaying responds knowingly. It’s also deeply understanding, which Peggy appreciates. “As soon as you finish with my business, I’ll give you an update on your business.” She doesn’t say it as quid pro quo, but more as a hopeful promise.

“I’ll hold you to it,” Peggy says with a smile tugging at her lips.

Jiaying merely takes another bite out of her sandwich before picking one of the photos in Peggy’s files. Peggy wants to snatch it back but it’s too late and she watches as Jiaying inspects the photo.

It’s from earlier that day of her daughter and her ex-wife. It didn’t seem like Jiaying and Melinda had any contact but then again, Jiaying looks impassive as ever staring at the photo. There is a tug in Peggy’s chest as Jiaying stares though because Peggy recognizes that look. It’s the same look she has sometimes when she stares at the photo tucked away in her journal.

“She took Daisy to the shooting range,” Peggy informs carefully. Jiaying has a small smile at a fond memory. “I figured she’d be safe with May.”

“Well, I bet Daisy was excited,” Jiaying says cheerfully. It’s a front, Peggy knows it. “My wife always did have a strict sense of responsibility.”

Peggy tries not to cringe because she doesn’t know the nature of their divorce and apparently it was _messy_. Or at least, it should’ve been, from what Peggy knew, they were **_deeply in love_**. Aaaand then they **_weren’t_** , but that’s all really according to drunk Daisy.

She really should grab a drink with Daisy again soon.

\----------------------

If there is one that Peggy observes from her time with Jiaying, it’s that nothing is more important than family. Family is made of the people you love unconditionally and that love you unconditionally.

Despite how much Daisy hates that her moms are an international crime lord and assassin, they’ll always be her parents. She doesn’t realize how much she lights up when Melinda is around or when she talks about Jiaying’s random gifts. Melinda and Jiaying also share a soft spot for their daughter, to dote on her, to protect her, and to honestly love her, no matter how much she acts begrudgingly around them.

Jiaying may be a criminal but her nature is to provide for and protect her family by any means. There may be a lot more gray areas in her life but she understands the consequences too deeply to care what anyone else thinks. It would be a shame if she let herself get taken in by Interpol and/or Scotland Yard. Then Daisy would really have something to be upset about.

Peggy rubs the back of her neck as she walks up the steps to her home.

It’s almost dinner time.

She told Angie she’d be home soon (at around noon) but that was a lie.

She won’t deny it.

There are secrets she keeps from Angie. They’re not intentional though, there are just things that Peggy doesn’t want to talk about anymore. It wouldn’t do Angie any good to know about Peggy’s past.

Angie is her present and future. She makes everything better like the ray of sunshine she is to Peggy.

The door barely opens and she can hear the hastened footsteps.

Peggy braces herself for the yelling and onslaught. She’s already messed up today with Jiaying, which was still unexpected, and she knows Angie isn’t happy about Dottie being back in town. Not to mention her brother. She hasn’t even thought about how she wants to deal with her brother because he **is** her _family_.

Michael Carter is the first family she’s seen in so long and all she could think was how insignificant his presence was.

What can she say? It was a _great_ defense mechanism.

“Peggy?” Angie’s voice fills the foyer.

The private detective recoils that way it unexpectedly sounds, leveled, unsure, and deeply concerned.

Angie appears in the foyer and looks massively relieved to see Peggy. She rushes towards her with a wooden spoon and Peggy instantly retreats against the door. Her wife doesn’t stop and suddenly, Peggy is wrapped in her arms, pressed against her warm, lithe body. It takes her a moment to realize that Angie isn’t mad. Her wife just misses her as much as Peggy did.

Angie sighs into her neck and Peggy in return sags a bit from how exhausting the day was.

“You came home,” Angie affirms with relief. She kisses the base of Peggy’s neck softly and doesn’t let go.

“Of course, I did.”

Her partner pulls back and slides her hand down her forearms. She smiles, brighter than ever. “I made dinner, if you’re hungry.”

Damnit, there Angie goes again. As passionate and hasty as she can get, Angie is instinctive and grounded for Peggy. She is her home and without her Peggy doesn’t know what she’d do.

Peggy slips her arms around Angie’s waist and captures her lips. The kiss is deep and slow, letting Peggy pour out her emotions and burden for Angie, who welcomes it as her hands come up to grab the collar of her shirt. There’s a dull clatter of the wooden spoon but neither of them pull apart. It feels like the longest day of their lives and now they’re together again.

When they break for air, Peggy holds Angie securely in her arms. They breathe in tandem with each other for awhile, reveling in the comfort they share.

“Let’s go out,” Peggy says softly. She shuts her eyes, hoping this is the right thing to do. Hell, it’s probably the only thing she can do right now that won’t make everything worse. She breathes in preparation. “I want you to meet my brother.”

\----------------------

Needless to say, as ecstatic as Angie is at the prospect to meeting Michael, Peggy can tell she is apprehensive. Beyond apprehensive, Peggy would say she’s---

“Don’t say it!” Angie cuts through her thoughts as she stops talking and tightens her grip around Peggy’s arm.

Peggy feels the tug and just places her hand on top of Angie’s as she leads them to the restaurant. “You need to calm down, darling,” she comforts with a kiss to her temple.

“His opinion matters, he’s your _brother_.”

“ _Technically_ , his opinion doesn’t matter considering that we haven’t spoken in years,” Peggy can’t help but clarify honestly. Angie clicks her tongue at her but smiles nevertheless. “Honestly, if he disapproves, it’d be a little too late. We’ve been together far too long for me to change my mind.”

Angie scoffs and Peggy looks at her wife. The other shoe is about to drop. “You can tell that to _Dottie_ ,” she mutters. And there it is.

Peggy rolls her eyes and stops them in their tracks. “Are you _ever_ going to trust me?”

The New Yorker tightens her jaw and averts her eyes just for a couple seconds. She lets out a little whine and stomp in place. “I _dooooooo_ ,” she exhales. “I just don’t trust **her**.”

The private detective barks out a laughter. “She is barely ever around. Just because she is now does not change anything. I am with _you_. I love _you_. Nothing she does can ever turn me away from _you_.” With that Peggy leans in and seals her words with a kiss. It feels nice, considering they haven’t been together all day. She wraps her arms securely around Angie’s smaller body.

Angie pulls back with a content sigh. Yup, Peggy’s still got it. She tugs gently at the lapels of Peggy’s jacket. “I believe you,” she admits, “but nothing you say can convince me that Dottie Underwood isn’t some Mata Hari or KGB agent.”

Peggy gives her another tight hug before letting her go. She isn’t going to convince Angie of it otherwise because she knows better than to argue with her wife over something absurd. They share a look that says it all before Peggy slips her hand into Angie’s.

When they walk into the restaurant, Michael hasn’t arrived yet allowing Peggy to get a drink for Angie to soothe her nerves. While they wait at the bar for their table to get ready, Peggy sees someone at the corner of her eyes that catches her attention. It’s her client, the international crime lord, the right hand of the Triad, Jiaying sitting at a table checking her watch, looking normal as ever.

“Why is she _here_?” Angie hisses with worry.

They haven’t had time to talk about it but Angie respects her wife’s decision as best as she can. She doesn’t like the idea of Peggy keeping things from her but she understands there is a lot of Peggy’s life she still doesn’t know about yet. That’s how they keep their relationship so alive, their passion, their marriage, they just want to keep discovering new things about each other everyday.

“I’ll talk to her, if Michael comes--”

“I know.”

Peggy nods and weaves quickly through the tables making a beeline for her client. She slips into the chair quickly.

“Oh, Peggy,” Jiaying greets in surprise. “What’re you doing here?”

“Having dinner with my brother,” Peggy answers quickly in a hushed tone. Jiaying looks unbothered by this. “I don’t think that it’d be a very good idea for you to be here.”

The Asian woman raises an eyebrow. “I am having dinner with my daughter and her girlfriend. Do you know how _long_ it took for that to happen?”

It breaks Peggy’s heart because she knows that Jiaying is excited about this. It’s been a long time since she’s spent time with her daughter. And of course, she’s felt a little left out of Daisy’s life but there was a reason for that. Peggy knows that Jiaying has to do her best for her family and that takes away from actually being with her family.

“There’s a reason why your daughter’s last name is Johnson,” Peggy reminds carefully. She doesn’t want to drive a wedge between family but they both understand the consequences of their actions. “Jiaying be reasonable. There will be another day. Just not tonight.”

Jiaying tightens her jaw. She doesn’t want to agree with Peggy but she does. There are risks she won’t take. Even as she glances past Peggy, she sends a message on her phone before grabbing her bag and jacket. “Make sure she’s--”

Peggy gets up at the same time. “I know,” she says with promise.

The older woman leaves a lingering look before she disappears through the back way. Peggy looks over to where Angie was and sees Daisy and Jemma. Jiaying is long gone and she can see Michael walking in.

“Daisy,” Peggy pulls on a smile. Daisy greets her with a hug and pleasantries. “You should join us for dinner.” She tries to act as normal as possible, like nothing is wrong. Like she hadn’t just seen her mother.

“I can’t,” Daisy says regretfully, “I am actually having dinner with my mom.” She smiles at this, in spite of herself. She even looks at Jemma adoringly.

 _Oh young love_. The blatant glow of make up sex radiates from the two. Even Jemma looks excited to see Jiaying.

It goes away all too quickly when Daisy’s phone chimes. Because Peggy glances at Angie’s worried expression before seeing Daisy’s smile slightly drop. Jemma rubs her girlfriend’s shoulder and looks at the phone but Daisy just shoves it into her pocket.

“Well, looks like I can join you for dinner,” Daisy says putting on a front. She manages to keep a smile on her face but Peggy knows better. She sees Jiaying’s face clearly.

Peggy just reaches for Daisy and guides her along. “Come on then, my brother has just arrived. I am sure you’re going to learn a lot from him and what he does at Interpol.”

“You have a brother?” Daisy asks in confusion as she tries to focus on Peggy.

Peggy feels a hand slip into hers. Angie walks by her with a small smile on her lips before going back to her conversation with Jemma.

While Jiaying does what she can for Daisy, Peggy tries to do her job. It’s the nature of people to do the best that they can. There are plenty of things that loved ones would never understand. The great lengths that someone would be willing to go to keep the people they loved safe, even if they can’t show it like a normal person.

Eventually things will be normal for everyone. Just maybe. Until then? Peggy knows how to tackle a messy situation. Head-on and punching whatever gets in her way.

**Author's Note:**

> peggy has a lot of secrets: yes, she was in the army and there's a reason why she left; yes, she and dottie were together and there's a reason she's not; yes, she's worked with jiaying before and there's a reason why she accepts working with a criminal
> 
> there's going to be more but not anytime soon because i've got a lot of projects; i'll be doing my best to plan the next couple of parts though! leave a comment with any thoughts or questions or find me at nocteverbascio.tumblr :D


End file.
